IBMA Member Brian Hirsch

Bowling on the West Coast vs. Midwest.

Bowling on the west coast and especially in Phoenix, AZ during the winter I would see the league bowlers go from multiple nights of league play in the fall down to maybe one league in the summer just to stay sharp and loose. Bowling in the fall is the beginning of the new season and where the book average would come from. Centers are fun and happy and full of league bowlers all happy to start the new season. Somewhere between 25-30 weeks later the fall season comes to an end and you crown that year’s league champion. At this time most go home and put their bowling bag into a dirty, dingy garage or closet and wait for next September to roll back again to start this cycle all over again. For the diehards they might not bowl every night, but they will at least bowl one night during the summer.

If you have been following my adventures, you will know that I have recently moved from Arizona to Wisconsin. With a huge change like this there is always an adjustment period. Need to adapt to the new climate and the new way of life. Bowling out here as well will take some getting used to as well. Now at this point you must be asking yourself “Brian why do you need to get use to bowling out there?” Well out here in the Midwest they love their bowling, do not get me wrong there. The huge difference that I see is when in Arizona its 110 plus degrees’ outside people want to be indoors with the AC turned up on full blast. Out here in the Midwest when its 85-90 degrees’ outside people want to be outside at the lake or at the local volleyball court, because when winter hits and its negative 20 degrees is when you want to be inside and have the heat turned up.

I have been to Castle Lanes in Racine, Wisconsin about 3 or 4 times and during my practice sessions while there were not many people at the bowl during the day, I have heard where a center might close during the spring and summer but reopen again because they will be full in the winter.